Where the claimant has been involved in relationships with
different partners at different times during the year, you should
treat the ending of one and beginning of another as a CoC on each
occasion. However, where the claimant has split up and reconciled
with the same partner, you should normally ignore the splits and
treat the claimant and partner as a couple throughout the period.
If the claimant objects to this approach you should consider
whether in spite of the temporary break in the relationship, the
claimant and partner would still be considered a couple in
accordance with other relevant criteria eg. nature of any financial
support. If you cannot establish that the couple were effectively
living together throughout the period, you should apply the CoC
provisions to each break in the relationship.
